


Stark Internship

by Marvellous_Salmon



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Short One Shot, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-05-02 07:36:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19194529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marvellous_Salmon/pseuds/Marvellous_Salmon
Summary: Life in the hut with his wife and daughter sure are lovely. Some days, though, Tony just can't stop thinking.Just a really short oneshot I wanted to get off my chest.





	Stark Internship

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Tony shot up, an urgent thought in mind.  
Don’t forget to-  
He rubbed his eyes, slowly coming to his senses. The space beside him was cold, so Pepper was up already.   
Usually, it took him some time to realize who, where and when he actually was.   
But this day, this when, he probably wouldn’t forget anymore. The thing Tony could not fully adjust to until this very day was the fact that he wasn’t here. Not anymore.  
Today, Peter would be 21 years old.  
If only he was still alive.  
If only I had-  
Tony shook his head. He shouldn’t let these thoughts overwhelm him. He should pull himself together, for Pepper, for Morgan, he thought. He didn’t want them to have to see him like that. He didn’t want them to worry.  
Tony got to his feet, stretching a little. His back popped uncomfortably and the tired man gave a tiny yawn. He got dressed and made his way downstairs.  
Walking into the kitchen, Tony turned on the radio, in hopes of distracting himself from Peter, only to turn it off a few seconds later. Another One Bites the Dust by Queen really wasn’t the ideal song to improve his mood. Sighing heavily, Tony opened the fridge.  
“Daddy, me ‘n mommy made pancakes”, said Morgan, holding onto a nearby counter for balance. She couldn’t look over the top yet, so she gripped the side.  
Tony turned around, a bit startled. Morgan was looking up to her father with big, brown doe eyes.  
“You want pancakes?”, she asked. Tony gave a tired, but honest, smile and nodded.  
“Sure thing, squeak”. He picked up his daughter and ruffled her hair.   
Yes, Tony had lost his son, but now, he had a beautiful daughter.  
Peter would have loved her. His little sister.  
Great, Tony scolded himself internally, you’re great, great at making yourself sad again. Absolutely great.  
Morgan wrapped her arms around Tony’s broad shoulders and nuzzled her face in the crook of his neck. Of course, she noticed something was up with her dear father, she just didn’t know what. She didn’t want him to feel down so she did her best to show him she loved him. Maybe she would ask her mother what was going on later that day.  
“Where’re the pancakes at?”, Tony asked when he finally realized that neither Pepper nor the Pancakes were where they usually ate - in the kitchen.  
“Outside”, Morgan mumbled. Her presence soothed Tony and lifted his spirits, but he still couldn’t let go of the thought of Peter.   
Tony walked outside, holding his daughter close to him. Pepper greeted him with a warm smile. She knew exactly what day it was, she didn’t say anything, though. Tony was kind of glad she didn’t.  
“Mornin’, Tony”, she greeted him and pulled out a chair for him. The delicious smell of the pancakes filled his nostrils and only now did he realize how hungry he actually was.  
The table was already set, so Tony sat down, putting Morgan on his lap. Morgan slipped off him and got into her own chair. Tony was honestly still surprised that she was able to use a fork and a knife on her own to eat even though every four-year-old learned that.   
To say he was proud would be an understatement. He couldn’t help it.  
Peter would be-  
Oh, wow, there we go again.  
Tony shook off the thought and watched Pepper and Morgan grabbing Pancakes for themselves. His stomach grumbled, so he wasted no time and did the same.  
Tony was glad they didn’t eat in silence. The small chattering, mostly Morgan telling her parents about the dream she had had tonight, while Pepper asked some questions and Tony nodded along, throwing in a few “Oh really? That’s weird!” here and some “Wow, that’s cool!” there.   
A nice distraction from Peter, Tony thought, and then: Oh, well, here we go again.  
Morgan, that smart girl, noticed her beloved father’s mood suddenly dropping again, so she stopped talking and stared at him instead. Tony watched her in confusion.  
“What’s wrong, Squeak? Is there something on my face?”  
Morgan shook her head, a small frown on her face. Then, without a word, Morgan hopped over to her father and gave him a bear-hug.  
Well, Tony would rather call it a mouse-hug, since she was so small.  
Tony gave Pepper a perplexed glance but didn’t reject the affection. Finally, Pepper spoke up: “Wait a second, I’ve got something for you”.  
Pepper walked inside the house and Tony’s gaze followed her, while he softly stroked his daughter’s back. His wife came back with something Tony guessed was a picture, but he wasn’t too sure because there was Star Wars wrapping paper covering it.  
Peter would have-  
Tony wanted to dismiss the thought, until he realized that was exactly why Pepper used that wrapping paper.  
Peter would have liked it.  
Tony was aware of the fact that Pepper knew what was up with him.  
“I also considered buying some cake but I didn’t want to overwhelm you”, she said, voice gentle as ever.  
Morgan didn’t understand what was going on. She had turned around to see her mother bringing a present. The question was, why?  
It wasn’t her birthday, it wasn’t her father’s birthday and it wasn’t her mother’s birthday, either.  
She noticed that her father knew what was going on, though. He unconsciously pressed his daughter into his chest, careful so he wouldn’t hurt her, as if he was afraid she’d vanish any second. Morgan had no clue what was going on. She decided not to ask and wait what would happen.  
Tears welled up in his eyes and when Pepper held the present towards him, he took it with a shaky hand. He felt a bit weird opening Peter’s present on Peter’s birthday, but he knew Pepper’s intention. She thought that today was a good day to remember him. And, Tony noticed, she was right. He shouldn’t be pushing the thoughts of Peter, the boy he considered his son, away, but welcome them and think of the good times. Peter wouldn’t want him to mourn like that, he’d want him to be happy and and remember him as the cheerful boy he learned to love.  
He felt the present a bit. Yup, definitely a picture. He swallowed hard and took deep breaths. Then, he carefully unwrapped it and was faced with a photograph of Peter and him. They were both wearing some, he’d call it casual suits, and Tony had his sunglasses on. He hadn’t seen those in a while.   
Tony had the faintest outline of a smile on his face and Peter showed a bright grin. They both held up Peter’s Stark Internship certificate and they gave each other bunny ears.   
Tony looked up when Morgan wiped away the tears he didn’t notice were falling.   
“I found it not too long ago and thought you should have it”, she explainded.  
“Who’s that boy, Daddy?”, she asked, curiosity obvious on her face. Tony shakily smiled at her and took another few deep breaths. Pepper walked away with the words “I’ll leave you two alone for a bit”.  
“His name is Peter”, he explained quietly. “He would have turned 21 today”.  
“Wow, he’s old! And who’s Peter?”  
Tony comfortingly rubbed her arm, mostly to sooth himself.  
“Have you ever heard of Spider-Man? Well, that’s him, a real hero”, he told her, vaguely gesturing to the picture. “A really good boy. Brave, smart. He was like a son to me”.  
“What do you mean, like a son? Is he my big brother?”  
Tony laughed a little. “Well, I mean his parents are someone else, but it feels like he’s my son. In a way, yes, he’s kinda your brother. If you want him to be, of course”.  
“Where’s he?” Morgan tilted her head slightly.  
Tony took another deep breath before he answered: “Well, he’s gone. He…died four years ago. You weren’t born yet”  
Morgan nodded with a serious expression, even though Tony wasn’t entirely sure if she could fully understand that yet.   
“Is that why you were sad all day? Because he’s not here?”  
Tony only nodded. Morgan stayed quiet and hugged him again, only for him to wrap his arms around her protectively and mutter: “I just…really miss him”  
After a while of silence, Morgan asked: “Can you tell me about him?”  
At first, Tony considering responding with 'No, not right now, Squeak, maybe another time’, until he remembered that Morgan should know some more about her not-so-adoptive brother and today was a good day to share some stories about the boy.  
“Sure. Let’s get comfortable on the couch with Pepper and we can chat as long as you want to”.  
And that they did. Yes, he cried a little but Tony also noticed how much better he felt now that he talked about the boy, well, his boy.   
Because, honestly, that’s exactly what Peter would have wanted. The people remembering him in a good, being happy to think about him.   
Because Peter was a good boy, who just wanted everyone to be happy and Tony to be proud.  
Because Peter was his son.


End file.
